Sheet product dispenser

ABSTRACT

A dispenser having a base extension manoeuvrable between a retracted position and an extended position is provided. In the retracted position, the base extension is contained within a foot print of the dispenser when the dispenser is viewed from above. In the extended position, the base extension projects from the footprint formed by the rest of the dispenser when the dispenser is viewed in plan. The base extension is manoeuvrable into the extended position in a sliding motion akin to opening a drawer. The dispenser includes a removable face piece that has a bulging top portion, a recessed medial portion and a toe portion projecting as compared to the recessed portion. Between the bulging top portion and the projecting toe portion, the recess provides a finger receiving space for grasping a tissue in a dispensing opening and dispensing it from the dispenser.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application is a §371 National Stage application of PCTInternational Application No. PCT/EP2012/051764 filed on Feb. 2, 2012,which is incorporated herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is concerned with a dispenser for sheet products.The dispenser is of a gravity feed kind that can be placed on a countersurface or other such surface to stand on a foot portion of thedispenser. Sheet products in the dispenser are gravity fed to adispensing opening at a bottom of a dispenser housing when the dispenseris stood on the counter surface on its foot portion.

BACKGROUND

WO 2005/034702 A1 discloses a dispenser for folded absorbent sheetproducts having a stand and a main body portion positioned atop thestand. The stand is removable from the main body portion. The dispenserincludes two types of face plates that are interchangeably mountable tothe main body portion. The folded sheet products are dispensable frombeing contained in the main body portion through a dispensing opening inthe face plate. The main body portion includes recessed openings thatpermit the main body portion to be fastened to a vertical supportsurface, while the stand permits the dispenser to be place on ahorizontal surface.

The dispenser of WO 2005/034702 A1 is thus positionable on a horizontalsurface by using the stand or mounted on a vertical surface without thestand. Accordingly, the dispenser can be used with the stand for indoorcountertop use and outdoors without the stand, fixed to a vertical wallof a drive thru lane. One of the face plates is designed for one-by-onesheet product dispensing and is more suited for use in combination withthe stand in an indoor countertop environment. The other face plate isdesigned for dispensing a group of sheet products at one time and ismore suited to use without the stand in a drive thru environment.

It is considered a desirable objective to reduce a footprint of such adispenser. In this context, the foot print is considered to be theoverall vertical projection of the dispenser onto a counter surface orother such surface. That is, when the dispenser is stood on the countersurface or other such surface, the footprint is the total area of thecounter surface taken up by the dispenser when the dispenser is viewedin plan. One way to reduce the footprint of the dispenser is to make thedispenser so that the stack is more vertically oriented, therebyallowing the body portion to be more vertically oriented. Such a stepwill, however, serve to raise the centre of gravity of the dispenser,thereby making it more liable to tipping over. Also, it may be desiredto increase a capacity of a dispenser. In a laid back design, thefootprint increases yet further. In a more vertical design, thefootprint does not increase as much, but the stability of the dispensermay be compromised. The present disclosure offers, in one respect, asolution to the tipping problem.

In WO 2005/034702 A1, conversion from counter mounted to wall mounted isa two step process, namely changing the face plates and removing thestand. It would be desirable to make it easier to convert the dispenserbetween a wall mounted use and placement of the dispenser on a countersurface. The present disclosure offers, in one respect, a solution tothe problem of easing conversion.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, there is provided a dispenser comprising:

a dispensing opening through which sheet products are dispensable fromwithin the dispenser;

a base;

the dispenser arranged to be stood on its base on a counter surface orother such surface so that the sheet products are fed to the dispensingopening by gravity; and

a base extension that is manoeuvrable into a deployed position to extendthe base to increase the dispenser's resistance to being tipped over.

The base extension allows tipping resistance of the dispenser to beincreased when necessary by moving it into the deployed position. Themanoeuvrability of the base extension means that a more compactconfiguration for the base is also possible when the base extension isin an undeployed position, which may be desirable in certain uses, suchas during delivery and in certain dispenser placements where compactnessis of greater relevance than increased stability. The deployability maybe useful as to allow the base extension not to be deployed when a baseextension is not required, such as when the dispenser is placed on acounter surface on its base and located against an upright wall, therebyat least ameliorating the tipping issue.

The base extension may be manoeuvrable from an undeployed positionwithin a footprint of the dispenser to a position extending from thatfootprint, wherein the footprint is an area of the counter surface orother surface taken up by the dispenser when the dispenser is viewed inplan. A smaller footprint dispenser is thus offered.

The base extension may be attached to the dispenser and manoeuvrablefrom an undeployed position to the deployed position.

The base extension may, in the deployed position, extend from a backside of the dispenser, wherein the dispensing opening is disposed at afront side of the dispenser. The base extension can be concealed fromthe user when deployed from the back side. The base may have a largerdimension in a front to back direction than in a left side to right sidedirection.

The base extension may have a retracted position relative to the baseand an extended position relative to the base corresponding to thedeployed position.

The base extension may be manoeuvrable from the retracted position tothe extended position in the manner of a drawer, which is to say bysliding.

The dispenser may include a component for fixing the dispenser to anupright wall. In this way, the dispenser can be used by standing it onthe base on a counter surface such as in an indoor environment or byfixing it to an upright or vertical wall such as in a drive-thruenvironment, perhaps with the base suspended. The component may includeat least one hole for receiving screws or other such fasteners. Thecomponent may include at least one planar surface for flush placementagainst the wall. The component may extend from a back side of thedispenser so that the back side of the dispenser is spaced from the wallwhen the dispenser is fixed to the wall.

The wall fixing component may be provided on a back side of thedispenser, whereas the dispensing opening is provided on a front side ofthe dispenser, and the base extension is manoeuvrable from the deployedposition extending from a rear side of the dispenser to an undeployedposition. In a non-retractable implementation of the base extension(which would simply be an extended base), the base extension could getin the way of mounting the dispenser to the wall. This would mean thatthere would either be a limit to how far the base extension couldextend, which would reduce its impact on improved stability, or thedispenser would have to be of a type that is not also wall mountable.The base extension is retractable or undeployable, thereby allowing itto be suitably sized for appropriately improving stability, yet it canbe retracted so that it does not hinder or prevent proper wall mounting.

More specifically, the base extension has a deployed position extendingbeyond the wall fixing component in which mounting of the wall fixingcomponent to the wall would be impeded by the base extension and ismanoeuvrable to an undeployed position in which the mounting of the wallfixing component to the wall is no longer impeded. Put another way, thebase extension extends beyond the wall fixing component in a rearwarddirection in the deployed position and is manoeuvrable into a positionretracted relative to the wall fixing component in an undeployedposition.

The base extension may include a mechanism for locking the undeployed orretracted position of the base extension and/or a mechanism for lockingthe extended or deployed position of the base extension. A button orother user activatable means may be provided for unlocking the mechanismfor locking the deployed position and/or a button or other useractivatable means may be provided for unlocking the mechanism forlocking the deployed position. The base extension and the base of thedispenser may include a mechanism including a detent and first andsecond spaces for receiving the detent, the first space located forlocking a deployed or extended position of the base extension when thedetent is engaged therein and the second space for locking an undeployedor retracted position of the base extension when the detent is engagedtherein. The detent may form or include a button so that the detent canbe taken out of receipt in the space to allow the base extension to bemoved between the deployed and undepolyed positions. The first andsecond spaced may be first and second slots.

The base extension and base may include a guide slot or recess and aguide follower for guiding movement of the base extension between theretraced and extended positions.

The dispenser may include a chute surface for supporting a stack ofsheet products in the dispenser and for guiding the sheet products tothe dispensing opening. The chute surface may be curved along at least apart of the chute surface to guide the sheet products to the dispensingopening. The curved surface may form a cavity in a rear side of thedispenser, whereas the dispensing opening is in a front side of thedispenser. The base extension may be extendable into the deployedposition from a retracted position within the cavity. Thus, the baseextension can be concealed in the cavity in the dispenser, so as to keepthe dispenser compact.

The chute surface may include a less steep portion for supporting partof the stack adjacent the dispensing opening and a steeper portion forsupporting part of the stack further away from the dispensing opening.The steeper portion may be for supporting a larger part of the stackthan the less steep portion. The steeper portion may support a majorityof the stack. The steeper portion may be angled relative to a horizontalsurface upon which the dispenser is placed by the base of the dispenserat an angle of at least 65°, 70°, 75°, or even 80°. The angle may bebetween 70° and 85° or 75° and 80°. Such angles are steeper thanimplemented in some prior art designs, which means that the centre ofgravity of the dispenser will be raised, thereby making the dispensermore liable to tipping than before. The base extension means that thistipping problem can be combated in a selectable way depending upondesired end use.

The less steep portion may be angled relative to a horizontal surfaceupon which the dispenser is placed by its base by at least 20°, 25°,30°, 35° or even 40°. Such angles are greater than some prior artdesigns to allow a reduced footprint of the dispenser objective to beachieved. The less steep portion may define an angle relative to ahorizontal surface upon which the dispenser is placed on its base ofbetween 20° and 70°, 30° and 60°, or 40° and 50°. Such angles aredesirably steep, but not so steep as to impede dispensing feel from afront facing dispensing opening. These angles allow the dispensingopening to be relatively forward facing. In particular, an inside faceof face piece of the dispenser including the dispensing opening isangled relative to the horizontal by between 110° and 160°, 120° and150°, or 130° and 140°, which means that a leading face of the stack ofsheet products is similarly angled and the dispensing opening will alsobe so angled, to ensure that relatively forward dispensing is achieved.Downward dispensing would occur at 180° to the horizontal.

The less steep portion of the chute surface may be curved (and in whichcase, the angle is taken as the tangent of that curve). The curved chutesurface may follow a circular path or may be a composite curve. Theangle is taken from a tangent of the curved surface at an end of thecurved surface adjacent the dispensing opening. The less steep portionprovides a more gradual ramp into the dispensing opening in order toimprove dispensing success. Further, the less steep portion provides aturn in the dispensing path so that the dispensing opening can facerelatively forwards. Such a structure eases dispensing for the user asremoving sheet products downwardly is a less natural motion.

The base may include a toe portion protruding in a frontward directionrelative to a vertical line passing through a centre of the dispensingopening when the dispenser is stood on the base on a horizontal surface,wherein the dispensing opening is located on a front side of thedispenser. The base extension may provide a heel portion relative to thetoe portion of the base. The dispenser is thus stabilised from tippingin a forward direction and a rearward direction by the toe and heelportions.

The dispenser may include a front dispensing surface including an upperportion sloping backwards and a lower portion sloping frontwards todefine a finger receiving recess therebetween, wherein the dispensingopening is located in the upper portion so that a user is to reach in tothe recess to dispense sheet products from the dispensing opening. Therecess offers intuitive dispensing by making it immediately clear from afirst viewing that a user is to reach into the recess to dispense asheet product. The lower portion may slope frontwards to lead in to thetoe portion. Thus, the dispensing opening is located immediatelyadjacent the base, to thereby reduce vertical space taken up by thedispenser. Further, this will help bring the centre of gravity down asthe stack will be located closer to a countertop surface, which servesto improve dispenser stability.

In a second aspect, there is provided a dispenser, including:

a face piece including a dispensing opening through which sheet productsstored as a stack in the dispenser are dispensable;

a stand upon which the dispenser is to be stood on a counter surface orother such surface so that the sheet products are fed by gravity to thedispensing opening;

wherein the face piece forms at least part of the stand;

wherein the face piece is configured to be removable;

at least one component for fixing the dispenser to an upright wall;

wherein the dispenser is adapted to be stood on the counter surface orother such surface on the stand including the face piece and is adaptedto be mounted to the upright wall with the face piece removed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the face piece isremoved, at least part of the stand is also removed, thereby allowing aone step process for converting from a countertop dispenser to a wallmounted dispenser.

The face piece and the mating part of the dispenser include interactingcomponents for push on and pull off mounting of the face piece forrespectively securing the face piece to the dispenser and removing theface piece from the dispenser. The face piece may include a mechanismsuch as a clip mechanism or resilient clip mechanism that movesoptionally under resilient bias into engagement with a mating componenton the dispenser when the face piece is pushed on to the dispenser.These ways of mounting the face piece to the dispenser and removing itfrom the dispenser ensure that the dispenser can be converted withoutthe use of a tool.

The face piece may form a front side toe portion of the stand. The facepiece may be shaped so that when the dispenser is placed on the standincluding the face piece on a horizontal surface, the toe portion willextend to or beyond a vertical line passing through a centre of thedispensing opening. The face piece may be shaped to have an upperportion and a lower portion defining a finger receiving recesstherebetween for grasping a sheet product through the dispensingopening, wherein the lower portion forms the toe portion and thedispensing opening is located in the upper portion. The upper portionextends rearwardly and the lower portion extends frontwardly withrespect to a downward direction when the dispenser is stood on ahorizontal surface on the stand. The upper portion and the lower portionmay be curved.

The dispenser may be part of a dispenser system that further includes asecond face piece including a dispensing opening, wherein the secondface piece is of a different kind from the first face piece. Inparticular, the dispensing opening of the first face piece may be of adifferent kind from the dispensing opening of the second face piece. Thedispensing opening of the first face piece may be adapted for one at atime dispensing of the sheet products, while the dispensing opening ofthe second face piece may be adapted for dispensing a plurality of sheetproducts at a time. In particular, the first face piece is arranged sothat the dispensing opening reveals a bottom face of the stack of sheetproducts, whereas the second face piece is arranged so that thedispensing opening reveals edges of a plurality of the sheet products atthe bottom of the stack. The second face piece and a mating part of thedispenser may include interacting components for push on and pull offconnection to the dispenser. The second face piece may mount to thedispenser in the same way as the first face piece so that the samecomponent on the dispenser is used for mounting both the first facepiece and the second face piece.

In the various aspects, the dispenser includes a housing defining aninterior for receiving the stack of sheet products. A door may bemounted to the housing so as to be openable relative to the housing toloading the interior with a stack of sheet products.

The sheet products may be napkins. The sheet products may beinterfolded. The sheet products may be folded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

These and other aspects will now be described in more detail, withreference to the appended drawings showing embodiment(s) of theinvention, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a backside view of a dispenser according to a firstembodiment;

FIG. 2 shows another backside view of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a front side view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 with adispenser door in an open position;

FIG. 4 shows another front side view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 with thedoor in an open condition;

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 shows a bottom view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 with the baseextension in a retracted position; and

FIG. 7 shows a bottom view of the dispenser of FIG. 1 with the baseextension in an extended position.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a backside view of a dispenser in which there can be seenmounting brackets for mounting the dispenser to an upright wall and abase extension in a retracted position. In the retracted position, thebase extension is contained within a foot print of the dispenser whenthe dispenser is viewed from above. The retracted base extension islocated in a space provided in the backside of the dispenser formed bycurvature of a chute for guiding napkins contained in the dispenser asthe chute turns toward a dispensing opening in a front side of thedispenser.

FIG. 2 shows a similar view of the backside of the dispenser of FIG. 1,but the base extension has been moved into an extended position in whichit projects from a footprint formed by the rest of the dispenser whenthe dispenser is viewed in plan. The base extension is manoeuvrable intothe extended position in a sliding motion akin to opening a drawer. Thebase has thus been extended in a rearward direction as compared to FIG.1, to thereby increase the dispenser's resistance to tipping in therearward direction.

FIG. 3 shows a view of a front side of the dispenser, with a dispenserdoor in an open position to reveal a stack of napkins contained in thedispenser. FIG. 3 shows a face piece in a mounted condition so that thenapkins can be dispensed through the dispensing opening contained in theface piece. The face piece has a bulging top portion, a recessed medialportion and a toe portion projecting as compared to the recessedportion. Between the bulging top portion and the projecting toe portion,the recess defined therebetween provides a finger receiving space forgrasping a tissue in the dispensing opening and dispensing it from thedispenser. The toe portion forms part of a base of the dispenser. Theface piece is removable for when the dispenser is to be mounted to anupright wall, and thus the projecting portion of the base provided bythe toe portion is not required.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the front side of the dispenser with the door ofthe dispenser in an open condition. The face piece has been removed andis replaceable with a face piece of an alternative kind more suited todispensing when the dispenser is mounted to an upright wall. The view ofFIG. 4 also shows the chute surface for guiding and supporting the stackof napkins. The chute surface has a steeper portion and a curved portionturning towards the dispensing opening, where the curved portion is lesssteeply inclined. A chute member forming the chute surface is mounted ina rear housing member of the dispenser.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the dispenser, which illustrates therelative angles of the chute surface at the steeper portion and the lesssteep portion turning into the dispensing opening.

FIG. 6 shows a view of an underside of a base of the dispenser with thebase extension in a retracted position. In the retracted position, abutton engages in a slot to lock the retracted position. The baseextension includes at least one fin riding in at least one slot and thefin has an enlarged end to prevent the fin from removal from the slot.The fin and slot mechanism guides movement of the base extension betweenthe extended and retracted positions.

FIG. 7 shows a view of an underside of a base of the dispenser with thebase extension in an extended position and the button engaged in a slotfor locking the extended position.

FIG. 1 shows a dispenser 1 from a backside of the dispenser 1. Thedispenser 1 includes a rear housing member 2 and a front housing member3 that respectively define rear and front housing cavities forcontaining a stack of napkins 11 therebetween (FIG. 3). Referring toFIG. 3, the front housing member 3 is provided in the form of a doorthat is openable relative to the rear housing member 2 by way of firstand second hinges 12 located on one side of the housing 2, 3. The fronthousing member 3 is openable so as to allow the dispenser 1 to be filledwith a stack of napkins 11. The rear housing member 2 includes twoparts, a back part and a medial part.

The dispenser 1 includes a face piece 6 that defines a dispensingopening 13 through which napkins contained in the dispenser 1 aredispensable. The face piece 6 is removable as shown in FIG. 4 forreasons that will described in more detail below.

The dispenser 1 further includes a chute member 4 that is mounted to therear housing member 2 and defines a chute surface 14 (FIG. 4) upon whichthe stack of napkins is supported and guided to the dispensing opening13. The chute member 4 defines the chute surface 14 on a front sidethereof and includes first and second brackets 7 for interfacing with asurface of an upright wall. The brackets 7 include screw receiving holes10 having an enlarged head through which the screw can be passed and anarrower tail portion having sides against which the head of the screwis to fasten to secure the dispenser 1 to the upright wall. Referring toFIG. 5, it can be seen that the brackets 7 project from a rear side ofthe dispenser 1 so that the rear housing member 2 is spaced from theupright wall when planar interfacing surfaces of the brackets 7 arefixed against the wall.

The dispenser 1 is wall mountable through the brackets 7 as describedabove and also includes a base 5 for standing the dispenser 1 on acounter surface or other such surface. The base 5 is formed in part by abase of the rear housing member 2 and in part by the base of a toeportion 15 of the removable face plate 6. The rear housing member 2includes first and second rear facing legs 16 forming a part of the base5 upon which the dispenser 1 stands on the counter surface or other suchsurface.

Extendable from a rear side of the dispenser 1 is a base extension 8shown in the retracted position in FIG. 1. The base extension 8 islocated between the legs 16 of the rear housing member 2. The chutesurface 14 turns toward the dispensing opening 13 in order to guide thestack of napkins to the dispensing opening 13 and this curved shape isreflected on the rear side of the dispenser 1 to define a cavity 9 inthe rear housing member 2. The base extension 8 is, in the retractedposition, contained in this cavity 9 so that the base extension 8 iscontained within a footprint of the dispenser 1 when the dispenser 1 isviewed in plan.

Referring to FIG. 2, the base extension 8 is able to be extended so asto extend the base 5, to thereby reduce the tendency of the dispenser 1to be toppled in a rearward direction. The base extension 8 is providedin the form of a drawer that is extendible and retractable in a slidingmotion. The base extension 8 has predefined retracted and extendedpositions as shown respectively in FIGS. 1 and 2 in which at least onecomponent of the base extension 8 engages at least one component of therear housing member 2, where these components must first be disengagedbefore the base extension 8 is movable out of the predefined retractedand extended positions. The components for locking extended andretracted positions are described further below with reference to FIGS.6 and 7. Base extension 8 may have a plurality of defined extendedpositions. The base extension 8 is, in the deployed position, furtherprotruding than the wall brackets 7 on the rear side, as required toproduce a good anti-toppling effect (see also FIG. 7). The baseextension 8 would, if it were not retractable, thus impede mounting ofthe dispenser 1 via the brackets 7 to an upright wall. In the retractedposition, the base extension 8 is confined within a footprint of thedispenser 1 as shown in FIG. 6.

The dispenser 1 is more upright than dispensers known from the priorart, as will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The chute surface 14defined by the chute member 4 includes a relatively steep portion 17 anda less steep portion 18 for respectively supporting an upper part of thestack of napkins 11 and a lower part of the stack of napkins 11. Therelatively steep portion 17 forms a major part of the chute surface 14.The less steep portion 18 defines a turn in the chute surface 14 towardthe dispensing opening 13. The angles formed by the relatively steepportion 17 and the less steep portion 18 are indicated respectively byreference signs α and β in FIG. 5. In the given embodiment, α is about79° and β is about 45°. The relatively steep portions 17 of the chutesurface 14 is planar or substantially planar, making determination ofthe angle α straightforward. The less steep portion 18 of the chutesurface 14 is curved, so that the angle β is taken from a tangent of thecurve at the dispensing opening end of the chute surface 14. FIG. 5 alsoshows a desirable angle θ for an inside surface of the face piece 6against which rests a leading face of the stack 11, so that the facepieces provides for relatively forward dispensing. The angle θ is, inthis embodiment, 135° (other possible angles are described above, whichprovides an angle from a front side of the dispenser 1, of 45° relativeto horizontal.

The angles α and β given for this specific embodiment (broader ranges ofangles could be effectively used as described above) are steeper than insome prior art countertop dispenser designs, which will raise the centreof gravity, thereby increasing the tendency of the dispenser 1 to toppleas compared to prior art designs. The base extension 8 counterbalancessuch an increased tipping tendency in the rearward direction.

The profile of the face plate 6 can be seen in FIG. 5. The face plate 6extends away from a front side of the dispenser 1 at an upper portionand extends back toward the front side to form the toe portion 15 in adirection from a top of the face piece 6 to a bottom of the face piece6. A recess 19 is defined between the upper portion and the toe portion15 that is able to receive a protruding portion of a bottom tissue ofthe stack (namely a leading edge of a leading napkin in the stack 11)and a user is able to reach into the recess 19 to grasp the protrudingpart of a bottom napkin in the stack 11. The dispensing opening 13 islocated in the upper portion of the face piece 6 so that a bottom lip ofthe dispensing opening 13 is set back from an upper lip of thedispensing opening 13 as a result of the slanted profile of the facepiece 6. When the dispenser 1 is stood on the base 5 on a horizontalsurface, a vertical line passing through a centre of the dispensingopening 13 will also pass through the toe portion 15, which isindicative of the toe portion 15 projecting to provide tippingstabilisation to the dispenser 1. The toe portion 15 extends at least toa forward most edge of the dispensing opening 13 with respect to avertical line passing through the forward most edge.

The face piece 6 is removable by unclipping it from engagement with atleast one resilient tab 20 as shown in FIG. 4. Removing the face piece 6also removes part of the base 5 provided by the toe portion 15 of theface piece 6. The face piece may be interchanged with a face piece of adifferent kind, which does not have the toe portion 15 and thus is morereadily accessible from below, which can be useful when the dispenser 1is mounted to an upright wall, or having a different kind of dispensingopening. For example, the face piece 6 shown in the embodiment may besuitable for one at a time dispensing of the napkins in the stack 11,and may be interchanged with a face piece that reveals folded edges of aplurality of napkins in the stack 11 for dispensing of a plurality ofnapkins at a time. The alternative face piece is also mountable bypushing it onto the at least one tab 20. Alternative designs for facepieces are disclosed in WO 2005/034702 A1.

Referring to FIG. 6, the base extension 8 includes first and secondstems (not shown) that ride in first and second guide slots 40 in thebase 5 of the dispenser. The guide slots 40 guide movement of the baseextension 8 between the retracted position shown in FIG. 6 and theextended position shown in FIG. 7. At an end of the stems are enlargedheads 41, which do not fit through the guide slots 40 and thus ensurethe stems remain in a riding position in the guide slots 40. The guideslots include an enlarged slot portion 44 that allows the enlarged heads41 to pass through when the base extension 5 is manipulated in a certainway to allow loading (and perhaps also) removal of the base extension 8,such as during manufacturing.

The base 5 of the dispenser 1 further includes first and second slots 42into which a button 43 of the base extension is engageable in order tolock the extended and retracted positions. The button 43 must bedepressed (e.g. by a user) in order to disengage it from the slot 44 toallow the base extension 8 to be moved between the retracted andextended positions. The button 43 also serves to maintain the baseextension 8 in the selected extended or retracted position.

The base 5 of the dispenser 1 includes a plurality of soft feet 46, asdoes the base extension 8 include soft feet 45. The soft feet 45, 46engage the countertop surface when the base extension 8 is in theretracted and the extended position.

A use of the dispenser 1 on a countertop surface will now be described.The dispenser 1 is loaded with a stack of napkins 11 by opening thedoor-like front housing member 3 about the hinges 12 and placing thestack of napkins 11 in the space defined by the front and rear housingmembers 2, 3. A bottom face of the stack of napkins 11 is positionedagainst the face piece 6 and is partly revealed by the dispenser opening13. The stack of napkins 11 may be interfolded so that as each napkin isremoved from the dispensing opening 13, part of a subsequent napkin ispulled through the dispensing opening 13 so as to rest in the recess 19formed by the profile of the face piece 6. The stack of napkins 11 isfed by the chute surface 14 so as to be supported by the steeper portion17 and so as to be turned forwardly toward the dispensing opening 13 bythe less steep portion 18. The turn 18 ensures that a bottom face of thestack of napkins 11 is relatively forward facing for forward, ratherthan downward dispensing through the dispensing opening 13.

The dispenser 1 may be mounted on a counter surface or other suchhorizontal surface by placing the base 5 on the surface. The toe portion15 of the face piece 6 forms part of the base 5 and serves to stabilisethe dispenser 1 from forward tipping, while the legs 16 of the rearhousing member 2 interface with the horizontal surface to further formpart of the base 5. The dispenser 1 may be located against an uprightwall, as well as positioned on the horizontal surface, which means thatthe base extension 8 is not necessary for securing against rearwardtipping of the dispenser 1. It may, however, be the case that thedispenser 1 is not to be positioned against an upright wall, in whichcase stabilisation against rearward tipping of the dispenser 1 would bedesirable. In such a case, the base extension 8 is manoeuvred from aretracted position within the foot print of the dispenser 1 as shown inFIG. 1 to an extended position as shown in FIG. 2, to thereby extend thebase 5 in the rearward direction. The base extension 8 may be unlockedfrom its retracted position, by pressing the button 43 and the button 43could also be used for unlocking the extended position. Instead of abutton, a particular movement, such as an upward movement could be usedto disengage interfacing surfaces of the base extension 8 and the rearhousing member 2 to release the retracted and extended positions.

It may be desirable to hang the dispenser from an upright wall so thatthe weight of the dispenser is borne by the upright wall. In such a use,fasteners will be screwed into the wall, using the holes 10 in thebracket 7 to thereby fix the dispenser 1 to the upright wall. Thebracket 7 protrudes rearwardly so that the rear housing member 2 and arear side of the dispenser 1 is spaced from the upright wall. It may bethat the wall mounted dispenser 1 will suitably use the face piece styleof the face piece 6 shown in the figures. Alternatively, a differentstyle face piece may be desirable, in which case the face piece 6 isremoved by disengaging the at least one tab 20 from the face piece 6.This will remove the toe portion 15, which is not required for extendingthe base 5 as the dispenser 1 is mounted to a wall, rather than beingstood on a horizontal surface by the base 5. An alternative type of facepiece 6 can then be mounted to the dispenser 1 using the at least onetab 20. By having the toe portion 15 as part of the base 6, it is notnecessary to separately remove a forwardly extending stand portionseparately from removing a face piece. Instead, the toe portion 15 andthe face piece 6 are removed in a one step process.

The skilled person will appreciate that alternatives can be provided tothe above embodiment without departing from the scope of the claims. Forexample, the base extension 8 is shown as being manoeuvred from aretracted position to an extended position in a drawer-like fashion.Other implementations can be envisaged. The base extension 8 may bepivotable from a retracted position to an extended position about ahinge. Alternatively, the base extension 6 may include at least onecomponent and the rear housing member 2 may include at least onecomponent allowing the base extension 8 to be removably mounted to therear housing member 2 at an appropriate location to provide tippingresistance. Ideally, the base extension 8 is designed such thatmanoeuvring it from a retracted position to an extended position is toolfree.

In the shown embodiment, the base extension extends rearwardly, and thisis the preferred arrangement for the advantageous reasons alreadydescribed previously. It can, however, be imagined that sideways tippingis a problem in such a sheet product dispenser, or even forward tipping,and in such instances, a sideways extension member, i.e. left and/orright sides, or a frontward extension member for the base for thedispenser could be provided.

1. A dispenser comprising: a dispensing opening through which sheetproducts are dispensable from within the dispenser; a base; thedispenser arranged to be stood on its base on a counter surface or othersuch surface so that the sheet products are fed to the dispensingopening by gravity; and a base extension that is manoeuvrable into adeployed position to extend the base to increase the dispenser'sresistance to being tipped over.
 2. The dispenser of claim 1, whereinthe base extension is manoeuvrable from an undeployed position within afootprint of the dispenser to a position extending from that footprint,wherein the footprint is an area of the counter surface or other surfacetaken up by the dispenser when the dispenser is viewed in plan.
 3. Thedispenser of claim 1, wherein the base extension is attached to thedispenser and is manoeuvrable from an undeployed position to thedeployed position.
 4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the baseextension, in the deployed position, extends from a back side of thedispenser, wherein the dispensing opening is disposed at a front side ofthe dispenser.
 5. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the base extensionhas a retracted position relative to the base and an extended positionrelative to the base, wherein the extended position corresponds to thedeployed position.
 6. The dispenser of claim 5, wherein the baseextension is manoeuvrable from the retracted position to the extendedposition in the manner of a drawer.
 7. The dispenser of claim 1, whereinthe base extension is arranged to contact the counter surface or othersuch surface in an undeployed position and in the deployed position. 8.The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the dispenser includes a component forfixing the dispenser to an upright wall so that the dispenser can beused by standing it on the base on the counter or other such surface andby fixing the dispenser to an upright or vertical surface with the basesuspended.
 9. The dispenser of claim 8, wherein the wall fixingcomponent is provided on a back side of the dispenser, whereas thedispensing opening is provided on a front side of the dispenser, and thebase extension is manoeuvrable from the deployed position extending froma rear side of the dispenser to an undeployed position in which the baseextension extends less far from the rear side of the dispenser ascompared to the deployed position or in which the base extension isretracted within the rear side of the dispenser.
 10. The dispenser ofclaim 8, wherein the base extension has a deployed position extendingbeyond the wall fixing component in which vertical mounting of the wallfixing component to the wall would be impeded by the base extension andis manoeuvrable to an undeployed position in which the mounting of thewall fixing component to the wall is no longer impeded.
 11. Thedispenser of claim 1, comprising a chute surface for supporting a stackof sheet products in the dispenser and for guiding the sheet products tothe dispensing opening, wherein the chute surface is curved along atleast part of the chute surface to guide the napkins to the dispensingopening.
 12. The dispenser of claim 11, wherein the curved surface formsa cavity in a rear side of the dispenser, whereas the dispensing openingis in a front side of the dispenser, and wherein the base extension isextendable into the deployed position from a retracted position withinthe cavity.
 13. The dispenser of claim 1, comprising a chute surfacecomprising a less steep portion for supporting part of a stack of sheetproducts adjacent the dispensing opening and a steeper portion forsupporting part of the stack further away from the dispensing opening,wherein the steeper portion is for supporting a larger part of the stackthan the less steep portion.
 14. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein thesteeper portion is angled relative to a horizontal surface upon whichthe dispenser is placed by the base of the dispenser at an angle of atleast 65°.
 15. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein the angle of thesteeper portion relative to a horizontal surface upon which thedispenser is placed on its base is between 65° and 85°.
 16. Thedispenser of claim 13, wherein the less steep portion is angled relativeto a horizontal surface upon which the dispenser is placed by its baseby at least 20°.
 17. The dispenser of claim 13, wherein the less steepportion defines an angle relative to a horizontal surface upon which thedispenser is placed on its base of between 20° and 70°.
 18. Thedispenser of claim 13, wherein the less steep portion of the chutesurface is curved.
 19. The dispenser of claim 1, comprising a chutesurface defining a turn in the dispensing path so that the dispensingopening faces more forwards than downwards.
 20. The dispenser of claim1, wherein the base comprises a toe portion protruding in a frontwarddirection relative to a vertical line passing through a centre of thedispensing opening when the dispenser is stood on the base on ahorizontal surface, wherein the dispensing opening is located on a frontside of the dispenser.
 21. The dispenser of claim 1, including a frontdispensing surface including an upper portion sloping backwards and alower portion sloping frontwards to define a finger receiving recesstherebetween with respect to a downward direction, wherein thedispensing opening is located in the upper portion so that a user is toreach in to the recess to dispense sheet products from the dispensingopening.
 22. The dispenser of claim 21, wherein the base comprises a toeportion protruding in a frontward direction relative to a vertical linepassing through a centre of the dispensing opening when the dispenser isstood on the base on a horizontal surface, wherein the dispensingopening is located on a front side of the dispenser, wherein the lowerportion slopes frontwards to lead in to the toe portion.
 23. Thedispenser of claim 1, comprising means for locking the base extension inthe deployed position and in an undeployed position.
 24. The dispenserof claim 23, comprising user activatable means for unlocking the meansfor locking.
 25. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the base extension ismoveable between a retracted position and an extended positioncorresponding to the deployed position and wherein the dispensercomprises a guide slot and a guide follower to guide movement of thebase extension between the extended and retracted positions.
 26. Adispenser, comprising: a face piece comprising a dispensing openingthrough which sheet products stored as a stack in the dispenser aredispensable; a stand upon which the dispenser is to be stood on acounter surface or other such surface so that the sheet products are fedby gravity to the dispensing opening; at least one component for fixingthe dispenser to an upright wall; wherein the face piece forms at leastpart of the stand; wherein the face piece is configured to be removable;wherein the dispenser is adapted to be stood on the counter surface orother such surface on the stand including the face piece and is adaptedto be mounted to the upright wall with the face piece removed.
 27. Thedispenser of claim 26, the face piece and the mating part of thedispenser include interacting components for push on and pull offmounting of the face piece for respectively securing the face piece tothe dispenser and removing the face piece from the dispenser.
 28. Thedispenser of claim 26, wherein the face piece includes a portion thatmoves into engagement with a mating portion of the dispenser when theface piece is mounted to the dispenser.
 29. The dispenser of claim 26,wherein the dispensing opening of the first face piece may be adaptedfor one at a time dispensing of the sheet products.
 30. The dispenser ofclaim 26, wherein the first face piece is arranged so that thedispensing opening reveals a bottommost surface of the stack of sheetproducts.
 31. The dispenser of claim 26, wherein the face piece forms afront side toe portion of the stand.
 32. The dispenser of claim 26,wherein the face piece is shaped to have an upper portion and a lowerportion defining a finger receiving recess therebetween for grasping asheet product through the dispensing opening, wherein the lower portionforms the toe portion and the dispensing opening is located in the upperportion.
 33. The dispenser of claim 32, wherein the upper portion andthe lower portion form a curved shape to define the recess betweenopposed parts of the curve.
 34. The dispenser of claim 26, wherein thedispenser is part of a dispenser system that further comprises a secondface piece including a dispensing opening, wherein the dispensingopening of the first face piece is adapted for one at a time dispensingof the sheet products, whereas the dispensing opening of the second facepiece is adapted for dispensing a plurality of sheet products at a time,wherein the first face piece is arranged so that the dispensing openingreveals a bottommost surface of the stack of sheet products, whereas thesecond face piece is arranged so that the dispensing opening revealsedges of a plurality of the sheet products at the bottom of the stack.